Permanent Employment: The labor law of Benin acknowledges employment contracts for an indefinite term that may be written, verbal or tacit. If the job requires the employee to be outside his or her usual place of residence, the contract must be made in writing. Employees whose contract does not explicitly mention the duration of work are considered to have a contract for an indefinite term.

Fixed-Term or Specific-Purpose Contracts: Written contracts may not extend beyond a period of 2 years, and are renewable once. A contract for seasonal, temporary, or occasional employment does not exceed 6 months in duration and can be renewed. After 6 months of continuous employment, an employee is entitled to a contract of an indefinite term.

Temporary Employment: Seasonal, temporary, or casual workers engaged for short term employment not exceeding 1 day cannot receive a fixed-term contract until they have completed a period of continuous employment of more than 6 months.

Written Agreements: A written contract may not extend beyond a period of 2 years and is renewable once. In Benin, the following types of employment contracts must be written:

• Apprenticeship contracts: Fixed-term contracts exceeding 1 month Contracts for work outside of the employee’s habitual residence Contracts with immigrant workers Contracts including a stipulated trial period

The General Collective Labor Agreement states that any clause that prohibits employees from carrying out any activity upon the expiry of the contract is automatically void. Employees are generally prohibited from disclosing or using any information or skills acquired in the service of the employer to third parties.

Oral Agreements: The labor laws of Benin recognize verbal contracts of indefinite duration.

Implied Agreements: The labor laws of Benin recognize tacit contracts of indefinite duration.

All workers are entitled to 24 working days of paid annual leave, at the rate of 2 days per month, upon completion of 1 year's service. Annual leave increases with the length of service, at the following rate:

• By 2 working days after 20 years of continuous service in the same company

• By 4 working days after 25 years of service

• By 6 working days after 30 years of service

The cumulative duration of leave may not exceed 30 working days for 12 months of work. The leave has to be taken in the following 12 months.

Young employees under the age of 18 are entitled to 30 days, and those under 21 years are entitled to 24 days of paid annual leave, irrespective of the length of service.

Employees in Benin are entitled to paid sick leave, depending on the length of service:

• Under 1 year of service - 1 month leave with 100% salary.

• 1 to 5 years of service - 3 months leave with 100% salary and 3 months with 50% of salary.

• More than 5 years of service - 6 months' leave with 100% salary

The probationary period for indefinite contracts must be included in a written agreement and may not exceed 15 days. This probationary period can be renewed only once for indefinite contracts and must be done in writing.

For fixed-term contracts, the trial period must be equal to 1 day per working week and cannot exceed a total period of 1 month for employees, workers, or laborers and 3 months for supervisors or managers. The trial period cannot be extended or renewed in the case of fixed-term contracts.

Female employees are entitled to 14 weeks of maternity leave with full pay 6 weeks before and eight weeks after childbirth. It can be extended by 4 weeks in the case of a duly diagnosed illness resulting either from pregnancy or from birth.

All employed women and spouses of employed men are entitled to prenatal allowance and childbirth allowance paid by the National Social Security Fund of Benin.

Employers cannot dismiss pregnant employees, except for gross misconduct and under circumstances in which it is impossible to maintain the contract. Any dismissal in violation of this rule will lead to damages worth 12 months' salary to be paid to the employee.

The maximum working time is 40 hours per week, with the exception of agriculture, where the legal limit is 2,400 hours per year. Workers employed for only part of the year may not work more than 50 hours per week.

Paternity leave is not clearly provided under the Benin Labor Code, but the Collective Labor Agreement provides for 3 paid leave days for birth at home, which can be taken as paternity leave by fathers. Employees must notify their employer in advance for taking this leave.

The minimum employment age is 14 years, and hazardous work is 18 years. Children between 12 and 14 years may perform domestic, temporary, or seasonal light work as long as it does not interfere with their school and study. Unless a waiver is granted, employees under the age of 18 are prohibited from night work (per the Labor Code, between 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM). Employees under 18 must have a minimum of 12 consecutive hours of rest, including the night hours.

Minimum Wage:

In Benin, the Council of Ministers revises the minimum wage by decree every 3 years or as needed. Currently, the national minimum wage is XOF 52,000 (West African francs) per month for employees in the private sector.

Overtime, Holiday and Vacation Pay:

Regular working hours may not exceed 40 hours per week. Any hours after that limit may be considered overtime and paid as follows:

• 112% of the regular hourly rate for 41st to the 48th hour 135% of the normal hourly rate beyond the 48th hour 150% of the normal hourly rate for Sundays and holidays

For additional night hours:

50% of the weekly hourly rate 100% of the hourly rate for Sundays and holidays

2024:

January 1 - New Year

January 10 - Vodoun Festival

April 1 - Easter Monday

April 10 - Korité

May 1 - Labour Day

May 9 - Ascension Day

May 20 - Whit Monday

June 17 - Tabaski

August 1 - Independence Day

August 15 - Assumption of Mary

September 16 - Maouloud

November 1 - All Saints' Day

December 25 - Christmas Day

2025:

January 1 - New Year

January 10 - Vodoun Festival

March 31 - Korité

April 21 - Easter Monday

May 1 - Labour Day

May 29 - Ascension Day

June 7 - Tabaski

June 9 - Whit Monday

August 1 - Independence Day

August 15 - Assumption of Mary

September 5 - Maouloud

November 1 - All Saints' Day

December 25 - Christmas Day

Personal Income Tax:

The laws of Benin indicate a progressive tax on income from salaries, emoluments and public and private wages, as well as accessories payments of any kind. Tax rates vary from 0% to 30% of the total employment income.

Notice Period:

The Labor Code of Benin states that if a contract of employment is being terminated, notice must be given as follows by the party who initiates it:

15 days for employees paid by the hour 1 month for other employees and workers 3 months for supervisors and managers

Employees can be dismissed without notice in case of gross misconduct. Employees who are dismissed without notice for valid reasons are entitled to receive their remuneration including benefits in kind for the duration of notice.

Severance Benefits:

Severance pay for individual dismissals is paid at the following rate: 30% of overall average monthly salary for each year of the first 5 years; 35% from the sixth to the tenth year inclusive; 40% per year beyond the tenth year.

For collective dismissals, the rate of severance pay is 35%, 40%, and 45%, respectively, for tenure, as above. Employees dismissed due to gross misconduct are not entitled to receive severance benefits.

Types of Visas:

• Long-stay visa - issued to persons who wish to settle in Benin; valid for six to 12 months.

• Short-stay-visa - issued for a short-term stay; valid for three months.

• Long-term or short-term business visa - issued to persons who wish to stay in Benin for business activities; valid for three to 12 months

• Tourist visa - issued to persons visiting Benin for tourism; valid for three months

Nationals of the 15 member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the eight member states of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) can enter and travel in the country freely for three months.

Work Permit:

According to the labor laws of Benin, a visa agreement with a foreign employee or immigrant is subject to the submission of a work permit issued by the Minister of Labor. The work permit is temporary, is valid for 12 months, and can be renewed several times. It must be presented by foreign employees when employed. A work permit can be denied, or its renewal can be refused when the professional qualification of the employee does not meet the needs of the national economy.

Pension:

To qualify for a full pension, an employee must be at least 60 years of age and have at least 180 months of contributions. The amount of monthly pension is 30% of the employee's average monthly remuneration. The percentage is increased by 2% for each year of insurance beyond that.

Insured employees who have reached the retirement age and do not meet the condition for contributions, but have paid contributions for at least 12 months are eligible for receiving a one-time old age allowance. The amount of the old-age allowance is equal to 12 times the average monthly remuneration over the last 5 years. If the service is under 5 years, the average remuneration is calculated on the insurance period.

Dependents/Survivors Benefit:

The National Social Security scheme of Benin provides survivors benefits in case of death of an insured individual. Dependents must meet entitlement conditions to qualify for survivors pension and include widow, widower, children, and dependent parents of the insured deceased person (only in case of work-related death).

If the deceased person had less than 180 contributions, survivors receive an allowance paid in a lump sum amount equal to monthly remuneration for the months they had contributed to Social Security Insurance. The compensation is distributed equally among the surviving spouse and children.

These benefits are paid from the Pensions branch of Social Security.

Invalidity Benefit:

Benin's National Social Security Scheme covers disability benefits for employees who become disabled before the age of 60 and have paid contributions for at least 60 months. They must have completed 6 months of insurance in the 12 months immediately preceding the onset of disability. The amount of disability pension is 30% of the average monthly remuneration of the employee for 180 months of contribution. The percentage is increased by 2% for each year of insurance beyond that.

The holder of a total permanent disability pension or an invalidity pension who continually needs the help and care of a third party to accomplish the everyday acts is entitled to a supplement equal to 40% of the amount of their pension. This supplement may not be lower than the legal minimum remuneration or higher than 3 times this minimum.